Saturday, November 11, 2023/Sunday, November 12, 2023
Rider Broncs (10-15, 9-7 MAAC) vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats (17-8, 13-3 MAAC)/Fairfield Stags (18-6, 14-2 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ / Alumni Gym
Time: 1 p.m./12 p.m.
Live Video –BroncVision - Saturday/ESPN+ - Sunday
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Saturday's match will be streamed live on BroncVision with Sunday's match to be broadcast on ESPN+.
- Prior to Sunday's match the team will honor its graduating senior class, Tori Schrader (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin), Jenna Amaro (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Archbishop McCarthy), Molly Strah (Akron, OH/Archbishop Hoban), and Gabby Polynice (Manhattan Beach, CA/Grant[Delaware State])
- The Broncs were selected sixth by the league's coaches in the MAAC Preseason Poll, but were one of six teams to receive a first-place vote. Rider finished seventh in the regular season in 2022 before reaching the MAAC Tournament semifinals with wins over Manhattan and second-seeded Marist. The Broncs ultimately fell in the semifinals to eventual MAAC Champions Quinnipiac.
- The Broncs are currently 9-7 in MAAC play, good for a tie for fifth in the MAAC. The Broncs are tied with Iona and two games clear of Canisius for the conference's final playoff spot. The Broncs can clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a win or a Canisius loss this weekend.
- Keegan O'Connor (Weatherford, TX/Weatherford) was the star for the Broncs at the Cavalier Classic, totaling 19 digs and five aces across a pair of matches to earn All-Tournament Team honors. O'Connor leads Rider this season, averaging 3.53 digs per set.
- Kiannisha Santiago (San Juan, PR/Hudson Catholic (NJ)) leads the Broncs this season with 182 kills. She is also second on the squad with 43 blocks.
- Paige Giehtbrock (Clarkston, MI/Clarkston) earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Delaware Invitational, posting 23 kills, six digs, and a pair of aces across the two matches.
- Freshman Molly Rohde (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) has a team-high 66 blocks and is third on the team with 128 kills, and transfer-junior Ryley Frye (New Hope, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong[UTEP]) has a team-high 465 assists to go along with 46 aces.
- Frye leads the conference and ranks eighth nationally, averaging 0.58 aces per set.
- Rohde was dominant during the New York trip earlier in the season, compiling 18 kills on .517 hitting. The freshman added three aces, 11 blocks, and a pair of digs. In a MAAC win over Siena, she had eight kills, three aces, and seven blocks. Against Marist, she added 10 kills on .643 hitting, with four blocks and two digs. For her efforts, she was named MAAC Rookie of the Week.
- Giehtbrock posted her second career double-double last Saturday with 12 kills and 18 digs in the win over Canisius. She followed up that performance with 11 kills and five digs against Niagara to earn MAAC Rookie of the Week honors.
- The Broncs have won their last three matches entering the weekend, tied for the longest active winning streak in the MAAC with Fairfield. When these teams met earlier this season, the Broncs were swept during both matches during the trip to Connecticut. The trip, along with a midweek match at Temple, has been a turning point in the Broncs season, with Rider winning five of its last six matches since the four-match losing streak.
- Fairfield has won three-straight matches, dropping just a single set during the run. The Stags currently hold the one-seed by one game over Quinnipiac.
- Mikayla Haut leads the Stags offense with 215 kills with Kyla Berg atop the defense with 317 digs.
- The Bobcats saw their three-match winning streak snapped with a four set loss to Marist last Saturday before bouncing back to sweep Siena in three. The Bobcats hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Stags, currently sitting one game back of the Stags in the standings.
- Yagmur Gunes leads a balanced Quinnipiac attack with 226 kills, but five Bobcats have over 150 kills on the season. Aryana Diaz tops the defense with 248 digs.